The Emergence of Carbon Dioxide Gas from South Sea Storms

??The world's southernmost ocean, the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica plays an important role in global climate because of its carbon dioxide waters. Nicholson et al. (2022) conducted research into the complex processes that drive the flow of gases such as air-ocean carbon dioxide in the region. The use of autonomous marine robots, drones, and sea gliders in collecting data from the surface of the area to a depth of one kilometer is carried out around Antarctica. Half of all carbon dioxide used in the world's oceans is found in the Southern Ocean. This high amount of carbon dioxide is partly triggered by the frequent intense storms in the region that cause an increase in the ocean mix and cause air to emit carbon dioxide above the surface. Sea level modulates synoptic variability spatially in pCO2 with spatial variations in stratification affecting synoptic entrainment of carbon deeper into the mixed layer. It was found that animal transport and entrainment were driving the occurrence of a strong slowdown of CO2 with the effect of variability from slower seasonal carbon physics.

Referensi

Nicholson, S.-A., Whitt, D. B., Fer, I., du Plessis, M. D., Lebéhot, A. D., Swart, S., Sutton, A. J., & Monteiro, P. M. (2022). Storms drive outgassing of CO2 in the subpolar Southern Ocean. Nature Communications, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27780-w?

Writer : Salsabila Hana Zyria Tanjung